1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to tow-vehicles and drawn-vehicles, and more particularly relates to devices and methods used to assist an operator in aligning an automobile""s hitch component with a corresponding trailer""s hitch component.
2. Background Information
There are many known methods and apparatuses known for the purpose of helping a vehicle operator back up a vehicle into hitching alignment with a trailer or other towable object. For instance, the patents to Nelson (U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,328), Noll, e t al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,557), McCullough (U.S. Pat. No. 5,650,764), Otterbacher, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,100,795), Capik et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,052), Capik et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,505), and Thibodeaux (U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,650) all show such methods/apparatuses.
Problems with the prior art methods and apparatuses include the inability to compensate for angle of attack and pitch in the backing process, and the inability to compensate for environmental conditions. In addition to the previous problems, all prior art methods and apparatuses require pre-measured parameters (distances) in the system before operations could occur properly. Embodiments of the present invention addresses these needs.
The present invention is a method and apparatus that makes the task of backing a vehicle up into hitching alignment with a trailer both easier and less stressful. The preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes a hand-held electronic device (the xe2x80x9ccontrol unitxe2x80x9d) that can be plugged into the cigarette lighter of any automobile, semi-truck tractor, motor home vehicle, or other towing vehicle. The control unit aids the driver during the trailer alignment process by showing the relative positions of the tow-vehicle and the trailer with respect to each other. The control unit, either directly or through use of intermediary transceivers, connects with a number of sensors placed on the rear portion of the tow vehicle and a number of sensors placed on the front portion of the trailer. In the preferred embodiment, these sensors are connected to transmitters which transmit sensor data to the control unit, however other methods of transferring sensor data to the control unit are also envisioned, including, but not limited to direct wire connections.
Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description wherein I have shown and described only the preferred embodiment of the invention, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated by carrying out my invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in various obvious respects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description of the preferred embodiment are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.